What happens when someone rebuilding a life after loss finds an unexpected connection with one of medicine’s most remarkable minds? Insomniac City will explore that question through the real-life relationship between writer Bill Hayes and neurologist Oliver Sacks. Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy are set to portray the couple in a film directed by Dominic Cooke.
Rather than approaching their relationship as a conventional romance, the adaptation will follow two people whose lives intersect in New York City. Grief, curiosity and the possibility of beginning again are central to the story. Moreover, the film brings a personal perspective to a celebrated figure whose medical writing reached audiences far beyond the scientific community.
Insomniac City will bring Bill Hayes and Oliver Sacks’ relationship to the screen
Jonathan Bailey will play Bill Hayes, a writer and photographer who moves from San Francisco to New York after experiencing a devastating personal loss. His arrival marks the beginning of a difficult adjustment. However, the city gradually becomes a place where he can imagine a different future.
During that period, Hayes unexpectedly develops a romantic relationship with Oliver Sacks, played by Bill Nighy. Their connection becomes an important part of his new life. As a result, the film’s emotional journey is about more than falling in love. It also explores how someone can rediscover a sense of belonging after losing what once made life familiar.
The story comes from Hayes’ 2017 memoir Insomniac City, which he has adapted for the screen alongside director Dominic Cooke. That involvement is particularly meaningful because the film draws on Hayes’ own experiences rather than a fictional account of Sacks’ life.
According to Deadline’s exclusive announcement published on November 9, 2026, the project has also assembled an international producing team, with Altitude responsible for presenting it to prospective buyers.
Insomniac City has confirmed its leading cast and creative team
The casting brings together two actors associated with very different screen performances. Bailey, an Emmy nominee, is familiar to audiences through Bridgerton, Wicked and Jurassic World. Meanwhile, Nighy is an Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner whose credits include Love Actually and About Time.
Dominic Cooke, who directed On Chesil Beach, will guide the adaptation. His involvement is another reason to watch how the film handles its central relationship. The material calls for a balance between intimate personal experiences and the wider atmosphere of New York City.
Here are the confirmed details about Insomniac City:
- Jonathan Bailey: Stars as Bill Hayes, the writer and photographer whose memoir inspired the film.
- Bill Nighy: Portrays Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and acclaimed author who became Hayes’ partner.
- Director: Dominic Cooke, known for On Chesil Beach.
- Screenplay: Co-written by Bill Hayes and Dominic Cooke.
- Source material: Hayes’ 2017 memoir Insomniac City.
- Producers: Troy Lum and Andrew Mason of Brouhaha Entertainment, the company behind Lee; Jonathan Bailey; Mike Goodridge, a producer on Ballad of a Small Player; and Gabrielle Tana, a producer on Elsinore.
- Executive producers: Will Clarke, Andy Mason and Mike Runagall of Altitude.
- International sales: Altitude is handling worldwide sales and will introduce the project to buyers at the American Film Market (AFM).
Bailey’s participation as both an actor and producer is another notable aspect of the announcement. Nevertheless, the film’s commercial plans remain at an early stage. No release date, distributor or streaming platform has been confirmed in the information announced so far.
Oliver Sacks’ extraordinary career gives the love story another dimension
For audiences unfamiliar with Oliver Sacks, his importance extends well beyond his relationship with Hayes. He was a neurologist and author who made complex medical experiences accessible through storytelling. His work often explored how neurological conditions could affect perception, memory and everyday life.
The New York Times famously described him as the “poet laureate of contemporary medicine.” That recognition reflects his unusual place between science and literature. Rather than being known exclusively for medical research, Sacks became a recognizable voice for readers interested in the relationship between the brain and human experience.
Several details help explain who Oliver Sacks was and why his writing matters to cinema:
- His profession: Sacks was a neurologist and author whose writing brought neurological experiences to a broad readership.
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: One of his best-known books, exploring unusual neurological cases and their human consequences.
- Awakenings: Another major work by Sacks, later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film.
- The Awakenings film: Its cast included Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, helping introduce Sacks’ work to movie audiences.
- His legacy: Sacks became one of modern medicine’s most distinctive literary voices before his death in 2015.
This background creates an interesting contrast for Insomniac City. Awakenings brought Sacks’ medical observations into a dramatic setting. The new adaptation, by comparison, will approach him through the personal memories of someone who loved him.
Consequently, viewers may encounter a different side of the neurologist. Instead of concentrating primarily on his professional achievements, the film has an opportunity to explore the person behind the widely read books. That distinction could make the story accessible even to audiences who have never encountered his writing.
New York City will be more than a backdrop for this romance
One of the most compelling elements of the project is its setting. New York is not simply where Hayes meets Sacks. It is also the place where he begins to rebuild his life after leaving San Francisco. The city’s energy and the relationships he develops there become part of a wider story about recovery and second chances.
Cooke has described the material as both deeply personal and expansive in its emotional reach. His vision emphasizes two people discovering a meaningful connection at an unexpected point in their lives. He also calls it a love letter to New York City and says Hayes’ memoir captures the fragile beauty of love in the face of mortality.
That approach makes the setting especially important. New York can represent possibility and human connection while the central characters confront more private questions about grief and time. If the adaptation preserves that contrast, the city could become an essential part of the storytelling rather than a collection of recognizable locations.
Insomniac City joins a busy season of new film projects
Interestingly, New York is also central to another upcoming film covered by Battle4play. The action thriller Karoshi depicts a deadly corporate world in New York, with Cynthia Erivo, Bailey’s Wicked co-star, among its cast. Although the two productions have very different ambitions, they demonstrate how the same city can support contrasting cinematic worlds.
Meanwhile, Insomniac City arrives among several notable film projects attracting attention this November. Another example is Steven Spielberg’s plans for his first western, a project that could take the director into unfamiliar genre territory. Cooke’s film presents a different creative challenge: translating a deeply personal memoir into an emotionally convincing screen story.
Ultimately, Insomniac City has a distinctive foundation. Its central romance connects a writer searching for a new beginning with a neurologist whose work changed how many readers understood the human mind. With Bailey and Nighy in the leading roles, the adaptation has the potential to introduce their relationship to a wider audience without losing sight of its intimate origins.
For now, the next significant development will be the project’s progress through international sales. The unanswered question is how Cooke and Hayes will translate a memoir about love, loss and an extraordinary city into a film that feels equally personal on screen.
Creator of the website, Pokemon trainer by nature. Trying to report on everything related to the world of video games, series and movies. Yu-Gi-Oh is my weakness, collecting cards since the dawn of time.
